Earlier reports suggested Samsung might finally ditch its flimsy-feeling plastic for better build quality on its upcoming Galaxy Note III, but a new report suggests those plans have been scrapped. SamMobile says that while Samsung tested Note III designs that included a metal case and even a flexible plastic display, it ended up choosing a design that takes most of its queues from the new Galaxy S4. As such, we can expect a plastic case and a similar shape, though the report notes that the new phablet will also feature a smaller bezel around the display just like the Galaxy S4. Despite the phone’s rumored 6-inch display, it may still be manageable as a result. Samsung’s Galaxy Note III is expected to launch this fall.
Apple’s next-generation iPhone 5S is widely expected to feature the same external design as its predecessor, just as previous “S” upgrades have in the past. But looks can be deceiving. While Apple’s flagship iPhone for 2013 may appear to be the same as the iPhone 5 on the outside, the phone will feature a significant internal redesign when it launches this fall. BGR has exclusively obtained high-resolution photos of a number of components that will be included in Apple’s iPhone 5S, and they help paint a picture of things to come later this year. More →
Microsoft and BlackBerry are fighting to become viable alternatives in the mobile market, and while Android and iOS accounted for a majority of smartphone shipments in the first quarter, Windows Phone made some significant moves that propelled it ahead of BlackBerry. Research firm IDC found that Windows Phone shipped 7 million smartphones, accounting for 3.2% of all shipments in the first quarter of 2013, more than double the year-ago quarter. Microsoft was able to overtake BlackBerry, which despite its new BlackBerry 10 operating system, saw smartphone shipments decline from 9.7 million units to 6.3 million units, accounting for 2.9% of global channel sales. More →
Is the mobile industry headed for a duopoly where Apple and Samsung are the only two companies that matter? Breakdowns of smartphone industry profits sure make it look that way and now Barron’s points us to a new survey conducted by MKM Partners showing that the two companies’ grip on the smartphone market has only strengthened over the past several months. The survey, which measures smartphone buying intentions for just over 1,000 American consumers, found that 30% of likely smartphone buyers planned to buy an iPhone while 28% said they planned to buy a Samsung device for their next smartphone. More →
Google made a splash at its I/O Developers Conference on Wednesday when it announced a special edition Galaxy S4 smartphone. The device will be sold directly through Google’s Play Store for $649 and runs a stock version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, rather than Samsung’s TouchWhiz user interface. Unfortunately it would appear other manufacturers will not be following Samsung and Google’s lead. HTC confirmed in a statement to TechnoBuffalo that it has no plans to offer its popular all-metal One smartphone with a stock version of Android. The company does offer an unlocked developer edition of the HTC One on its website, however that model still runs the company’s Sense user interface.
The countdown on Apple’s website stopped late Wednesday indicating that the company’s App Store has surpassed 50 billion downloads. The milestone comes just 14 months after Apple announced 25 billion apps had been downloaded from its popular marketplace. Apple launched the App Store in July 2008 and downloads have increased steadily over the past five years. The company’s first milestone came in January 2011 when the store surpassed 10 billion downloads, followed by 25 billion last March. Apple will reward the individual who downloaded the 50 billionth application with a $10,000 App Store gift card and 50 runners-up will each receive a $500 card.
Google is not happy with Microsoft’s attempt to remove YouTube ads for Windows Phone users. The Verge reports that Google has asked Microsoft to remove YouTube from the Windows Phone app store because Microsoft has allegedly created its own version of the app “without Google’s consent” and “with features that specifically prevent ads from playing.” Since Google makes its money primarily through online advertisements, it’s not surprising that it would be upset at another company removing the ads, even if it does deliver a better user experience. In a cease and desist letter sent to Microsoft, Google says that “by blocking advertising and allowing downloads of videos, your application cuts off a valuable ongoing revenue source for creators, and causes harm to the thriving content ecosystem on YouTube.”
With its I/O Developers Conference in full swing on Wednesday, Google took the wraps off its redesign of Google Maps for mobile devices. As revealed in an earlier leak, Google Maps has been updated with a brand new layout, new search features and new ways to highlight the “things that matter most.” The latest version of Google Maps for mobile devices is fully integrated with Zagat restaurant ratings, Google Offers and includes enhanced navigation with real-time updates for accidents. The update will hit the iPhone, iPad and Android devices this summer. Google also redesigned the Maps user interface on the Web to better match up with the company’s mobile offering. More →
During what may be one of the longest keynotes in history, Google on Wednesday announced a number of new features for its core search product under the heading, “the end of search as we know it.” The company has updated its intelligent search feature “knowledge graph,” which now anticipates future searches based on past and current queries. So a search for “what is the population of India?” might also display the population of neighboring countries or all of Asia. Google search also now offers more personalized search results as well. For example, searching “what time is my flight?” will return an intelligent response based on flight confirmation emails in Gmail, even though the user did not offer any specific details in his or her query. More →
There are still two hours left in Google’s I/O 2013 keynote, but there have already been some big announcements… for developers. Product news is flowing too now, thankfully, and Google just announced a new version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 that runs a stock version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Google will sell the phone unlocked with 16GB of memory for $649 beginning June 26th, and it will support T-Mobile and AT&T networks, including AT&T’s LTE network. More →
Google just kicked off this year’s Google I/O conference and we’re in store for quite a show. The keynote is scheduled to run for three hours — yes, three hours — and Google SVP Sundar Pichai started off the show by announcing cumulative Android activations have now reached 900 million. Google also announced Google Play has topped 48 billion app installs, including 2.5 billion installs in the last month alone. Revenue per user for Android apps is now 2.5 times more than it was a year ago, according to Google. More →
Google’s annual Google I/O conference is the biggest event of the year for Android and the rest of Google’s always expanding product portfolio. Google’s keynote at this year’s I/O is set to be an absolute beast, with three straight hours of announcements and demos set to kick off at 12:00 p.m. EDT, 9:00 a.m. PDT. The next-generation Nexus 7 is expected to be among the stars of the keynote, as is a new version of Android and maybe even Google’s X Phone. What else does Google have in store for us? Live streaming video of the Google I/O keynote can be viewed below, and all of our I/O coverage can be found on this page. More →
